dgunbug

We have 3 weeks to travel are considering a trip to Vietnam next year. We would also like to get to Luang Prabang after reading all the reviews on Fodors, however after preliminary research, it looks like there may not be enough time to do both. We had planned on several days in the Sapa region of Vietnam, but wonder if we are better to forego that and include Luang Prabang in its place. Any opinions?

Craig

Time of year is the key. Sapa can be completely hazed over (and chilly) in the winter. In April when we went, there was occasional haze but it was mostly comfortable, though hot in the sun. We went to Luang Prabang in February a few years ago. It was hot and humid then but I think we were better off there than we would have been in Sapa.

Check weatherbase.com or wunderground.com for historical data.

Femi

The choice would also be influenced by what type of activities you enjoy.

Both locations are doable within your timeframe. What does your itinerary look like?

dgunbug

Thanks both for your replies. We enjoy wandering, taking in the sites, people watching and interacting, some hiking but not really major trekking trips. We love ancient ruins, beautiful scenery, good food, history, etc.

Which location did you both enjoy more - Sapa or Luang Prabang?

Craig - We will definitely consider the weather in our planning. Right now we are not sure when we will go as we are in the midst of moving to a new home. Also, we will have to see when we can get our frequent flyer tickets and where we can fly into.

Thanks again and please...if anyone else has an opinion, please feel free to jump in!

Femi

I enjoyed the scenery, markets and visiting the locals in Sapa. In LP I enjoyed an elephant ride and a visit to Kuang Si falls. There are trekking opportunities in both locales. LP is much more atmospheric when it comes to wandering around town. Good food = LP. Ancient ruins; none in Sapa that I recall, Pak Ou caves in LP. History is better preserved in LP.

Overall I think if I had to make a choice, I enjoyed Sapa a tiny bit more than LP.

LuciaBoston

They are both so different, and yet both equally filled with tourists. I personally preferred Sapa for the landscape. Luang Prabang is an interesting town, good food and easy jumping off point for day-long excursions. But it took me a few days to get used to it. There are NO locals in Luang Prabang town. So it felt like a staging group in a weird way. Sapa is equally touristy, but I think the landscape just won me over. I would not miss Sapa.

Kathie

NO locals in LP? What has happened to the town? While I know it has changed since I was there in 2002, I find it hard to believe it has changed that much!

LP is the old cultural and spiritual center of Laos. Filled with wats and monks, it doesn't have the usual tourist vibe (or, at least, didn't). The wats, even the oldest, are all working wats. One of the delightful things to do in LP is to visit wats off the tourist track and talk with monks and novices there.

When I was there, the town was filled with families who had been in LP for generations. If you are thinking about visiting LP, I'd recommend reading Stalking the elephant Kings by Christopher Kremmer.

I can't compare it with Sapa, as after I did my research about Sapa, I chose not to go.

We all like different things, so you'll have to learn absolutely as much as you can about both destinations and decide how you might react.

You are welcome to view our photos of LP at www.marlandc.com

thursdaysd

I'm with Kathie on the LP question, and I was most recently there in Dec. 2004. Although there was some prettying up going on, and a few more tourists than in 2002, it wasn't in tourist overdrive. But that was four years ago. I'd hate to think it had morphed into Vang Vieng.

dgunbug

Thank you all for your replies. Kathie - I spent a good deal of time enjoying your travel pictures from all over. Nepal looks fabulous. Which of your trips were your favorites? So many choices and so many places to go!

LuciaBoston

I was there in August, and it felt like Disneyland. The only local people were working in restaurants and shops, and honestly a lot of those were owned and run by Europeans. It was beautiful, and we got out of the main area in order to experience a little of what LP for people who live there is like...the market outside of the main town area was cool.

We were there about 8 days, maybe I missed something? But I swear the town was entirely white. Not like what Vang Vieng is like...this was upscale tourism...but tourism nonetheless.

LuciaBoston

I should add that going to the wats and talking to the monks and novices was a highlight. We also went on an overnight trek w/ Tiger Trails and did the 2 day mahout training with them (which was ok, but not sure I'd recommend it).

We loved Sapa--took the overnight train from Hanoi--spent two nights at the Cat Ba Hotel for relatively cheap and organized our own treks. The first day we just walked from the Hotel, the 2nd day the hotel arranged for a local driver to drop us off and pick us up. I'm glad we did it that way, after being a part of a group with Ethnic Travels, we were ready to be alone again.

We were told that Sapa and Northern Laos look alike, they do not. While they are both green, and many of the same ethnic tribes are in both areas, Laos does not have the stepped tea plantations that Sapa does. I was completely taken with Sapa's landscape and it was a highlight of our 6 week trip to SEAsia (we went to Bangkok/Koh Samui/Koh Tao, Phomh Penh/Siem Reap, Hanoi/Halong Bay/Bai Tu Long Bay/Tam Coc/Sapa, Luang Prabang). Happy to answer any questions about these questions you may have.

dgunbug

Lucia - thank you so much for your perspective, having been to both locations. The pictures of Sapa do look spectacular. Anyone else who has been to both Sapa and Luang Prabang with an opinion?

crellston

We spent some time in both Sapa and LP 2/3 years ago. Firstly, Luang Prabang. Having first visited back in 1998 when it was a very quiet sleep town , we were really shocked at how much the place had changed. There had been a massive increase in tourists and many of the local businesses were now being run by non Lao. The quality of the food in many of the restaurants (a lot now owned by Europeans) had been dumbed down for the tourist market. The number and quality of hotels had increased dramatically but so had the prices. The worst part for me on our last trip was not just that teh place is now overun with tourist but the behaviour of those tourists particularly at the morning alms giving ceremony. Many were very rude and disrespectful to the monks - blocking the pavement to take photos, literally shoving cameras into the monks faces etc. I also saw a few tour buses in the old town ferrying Thai tourists around the town (I had thought that buses were banned.

This said, LP is definitely worth a day or two but don't expect the pristine cultural site it once was - I really wonder what UNESCO world Heritage think they are doing sometimes!! I will no doubt visit LP again but only as a gateway to visit the far north which still provides an insight into the old Laos.

We visited Sapa when travelling the "Bien Bien Phu" loop. We got the train from Sapa to Lao Cai and then travelled by car to Lai Chau - Dien Bien Phu - Son La - Mai Chau valley and back to Hanoi. On of the most memorable trips we have ever made! We had been warned that the Sunday market in Sapa when the minority peoples visit the town partly to meet future wives/husbands, was now a major tourist tourist event and so we decided to avoid this by visiting mid week. It was very quiet and really a pleasant place with quiet a laid back feel. We spent a day hiking out in the valley and this proved to be one of teh best days hiking of anywhere we have been. The scenery was spectacular and apart from the villages we walked through we did not see another soul.

Both places have their attractions (i.e. LP its wats and Sapa its scenery) but they are totally different. For me, Sapa wins over LP but that is a purely a subjective view.

PS if you make it to Hanoi a trip to the Mai Chau valley is well worth the 1/2 day travel - it is absolutely beautiful.

thursdaysd

Thanks for the detailed reply, crellston. I guess I can only be thankful I visited LP twice before it was "discovered". I'll, sadly, move it off the must-revisit list.

Kathie

Sigh, likewise. We loved LP. It sounds like we wouldn't now.

gailmo

My husband and I spent five days in Sapa last October and were in LP for six days in early November. We loved both places. I have a trip report for each location somewhere on this board. One is called Luang Prabang - Trip Report and the other is Sapa Trip report--although when I search for it I cannot seem to find it.

We did Sapa on our own. We stayed at the Chapa Garden Hotel and it was very, very nice. The people were very kind and helped us arrange treks and guides. They have a restaurant and it was absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed Sapa and it is true that you do get hassled by the locals to buy goods, but they really left us alone after the first day. I did enjoy talking with many of them at the local markets and around the square. Sapa is really much more "western" than any area I found in Vietnam...basically due to the influence of the French. I was living in Hanoi for the fall and really liked getting out of the city and into a location that was very, very different from the rest of the country.

LP was perhaps our favorite place we visited while traveling around SE Asia last fall. We just wandered, ate and poked around the markets, wats and nooks and crannies of the town for about 6 days. I was sad to leave. After the loud and rapid pace of Hanoi, it was a wonderful break from the chaos.

I think you would enjoy both places.....Have fun!

dgunbug

Thanks again for all the responses. Gailmo - just read your wonderful reports and have taken notes for future trips to both areas.